What’s cooking?

Student nutrition serves up appealing news

&nbsp;
Students line up for a hot lunch at Soldotna HIgh School several years ago.
Clarion file photo

Students line up for a hot lunch at Soldotna HIgh School several years ago.

Clarion file photo

The Student Nutrition Ser-vices team for the Kenai Penin-sula Borough School District is eager to begin another year of preparing and serving a wide variety of appealing meals to all students in the district.

Applications for free and reduced-priced meals for the 2005-06 school year are being prepared.

The district participates in a number of federal, state and local programs, with funding based on the receipt of completed applications.

The more returned, completed applications, the more resources will be available to all schools, including those that do not have an official National School Lunch Program.

This effort provides significant help in qualifying for the funding of programs that benefit all students.

The information provided on the application is strictly confidential and will be applied only to the programs that you designate.

Applications are available at all area schools and at the Student Nutrition Services office in Soldotna.

The applications are available before the start of the school year and also will be distributed to every student on the first day of school.

All households that feel in need of this important nutrition support are encouraged to complete an application early and turn it in to the Student Nutrition Services office.

Please allow 10 working days for our team to review your application and determine the qualification. Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Thousands of applications are received and processed during the first weeks of the school year.

Payments for school meals are made in the meal service line and recorded on a point-of-sale computer.

Each student’s status as qualifying for free, reduced or full pay meals is kept confidential.

Each student will be provided a personal identification number (PIN) to record each transaction in his or her individual accounts.

Households can pay into student meal accounts in advance.

Individual meal accounts can be paid up to an entire year in advance. This practice eliminates concerns about daily meal money and reduces the need for the student to carry cash to school.

Allergy and diet restrictions that have been professionally verified also can be listed with student meal account information.

Our point-of-sale system in the meal lines allows us to record and print every food service transaction made by students over the course of the school year.

With a history of having provided more than 850,000 meals during the last school year, our 76-member Student Nutrition Services team looks ahead with enthusiasm as we again prepare to serve the district’s students in the upcoming school year.

Offering healthy meals is always a goal for the Student Nutrition Program.

Reducing trans fatty acids, adding more whole grains and encouraging a greater consumption of fresh fruits and veggies will be a big part of our 2005-06 program.

KPBSD Student Nutrition is taking part in the development of a districtwide wellness policy through the year. This will be a fun and important task that will contribute to improving the overall health of our students in all schools.

For more information about Student Nutrition Services, call (907) 714-8830 or stop by the office that is located in the district’s warehouse facility on Park Avenue, across from Soldotna Elementary School.

Our office is open from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.

If you are interested in joining our team as a substitute staff member, give us a call. We can always use help with our growing program.

Dean Hamburg is the Student Nutrition Services administrator for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District.